It's Good to be Queen: charity

Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts

Monday, July 9, 2012

This Monday brings some Smiles :)

Despite being a Monday this day is bringing on a lot of smiles.

First, my two best friends are sharing their one year anniversary together today!

I can't believe it's been a year, and I'm pretty sure if you asked them they would say the same.

It's been a great year watching their marriage take off!
They've had a year full of love, and lots of fun experiences!
If that's not a great first year I'm not sure what is!

Jason and Danielle - Congrats on one year! I wish you nothing but many more years of happiness, and I hope you have a great day today!

ps - did you know this lady has a blog? Go check it out!

Second, Operation Smile

Have you guys heard of this organization?

If not, listen up because I think it's a pretty good one.

Operation Smile helps to raise money to help children with facial deformities like cleft lip, and cleft palate. Did you know that every 3 minutes a child is born with cleft lip/palate? I for one, had no idea. I also, never truly grasped what being born with something like a facial deformities could mean. Children born with cleft lip or palate are usually shunned, because they look different, and because the cleft prevents them from eating, speaking, socializing in general, and smiling. Could you imagine your life without the ability to smile? I couldn't!

This is where Operation Smile comes in.

Their mission:

"Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children's smiles and transform lives across the globe."

The charity was started in 1982, and has grown to be present in over 60 different countries! Since their start they have helped provided over 2 million evaluations and over 200,000 free corrective surgeries for children with facial deformities! That's a lot folks, and with your help it will only get stronger!

How can you help?
Well this is one of the greatest parts!
Calling all Students!

One of the easiest and best ways for you to donate to Operation Smile is getting your books for school from CampusBookRentals.com.

Can I just tell you that I really wish I would have had something like this when I was in school!

Using this site would have been so much easier, and cheaper in the long run.

What makes them so special?

Glad you asked!

You can save 40-90% off your books compared to your bookstores prices!

Umm...please check out how cheap this would would be for a semester compared to the campus book store: here. Holy crap!

You get free shipping both ways.

I know one of my issues with getting books from Amazon is that they ended up being just as expensive because of the extra shipping cost.
I know you've run into this problem too. Am I right?

You are allowed to highlight or underline as much as you want without being dinged with a fee.
They have flexible renting periods.
Finally, and in my opinion the biggest perk is that they donate money to Operation Smile for each and every book that is rented!

When you have a minute please check out CampusBookRental.com and Operation Smile to see how you can help make a difference.

Hope you all had a great weekend, and happy Monday!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Weekend: Running with the Pack

Good morning and Happy Monday (if there is such a thing).

I. Unfortunately. Have a lot to do today, but I wanted to give you a recap of what Danielle and I did this last Saturday. Mainly because it was a lot of fun, and I know many of you out there are animals lovers just like us :)

About a week or so ago Danielle and I went to an event at Park St. Patio that was showcases places you could volunteer around Columbus.

We both knew we wanted to find an animal shelter, and within minutes (ok, that's a lie it look us like 20 mins to stand in line to get a beer...it was free alright, I would have stood there for awhile) we had found the Pets without Parents organization.

We quickly signed up and happened to notice a little flier regarding the run.

Of course we knew we were going to do it.

Danielle got us registered and before we knew it it was Saturday morning.

We got ourselves and the pups ready and we were off.

I'm not going to lie I was a little nervous about how Gunner would do.

Not around other dogs, oh no, he loves other dogs, but with the walk itself.

He seems to get hot and winded quickly.

We keep him very active so I'm not sure if it's because of his breed or what.

Anyways, I'll let the pictures do the talking from here :)

Pup tent city (pun intended).

Danielle got a little goodie bag.

Said goodie bag had a treat in it.

Guess who had the most best friends at the dog park?

Team Han-Gun.

Clearly we love our pups a whole lot.

I probably have more pictures of Gunner than anything else.

Crazy dog lady? Maybe...

Getting ready to start.

And we're off.

The 5K run & walk happen at the same time.

It was great to see so many people and dogs out there.

Of course other than helping puppers out my favorite part of the walk was the actual route.

At first it didn't seem like anything to major but then we came up around this lake.

We went into this wooded area...

and boom.

We got this view.

I love this city.

This is probably one of the best views I've ever had of this city!

Gunner was keeping up just fine.

Hannah and Gunner finishing their first 5K (pic compliments of Danielle).

I think Danielle and I were just as relieved as the pups were.

It was so hot outside.

So proud of our pups.

Needless to say someone was very tired the next day.

Nose deep in cuddles :)

This was probably one of my favorite volunteering things I've ever done.

Being the animal lover that I am it was great to see so many people, and dogs for that matter out supporting the no-kill shelter.

We knew our money was going to a good place, and both of us are very excited to continue volunteering with Pets without Parents.

If anyone is interesting in what they are about check out their website here: Pets without Parents.

I'd also like to add that if you are in the Columbus area you need to check out this park.

It's called the Scioto Audubon Metro Park.

There are all kinds of things to do out there, and as you saw the walking paths are awesome.

There is a dog park, a rock climbing wall (the husbands are realllly into that right now, there is a good chance you'll see them if you go out there lol), volleyball courts, and a playground.

Happy Monday

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Pelotonia: I need your help!

Alright kids.

I did it.

I registered to be a 2012 Pelotonia virtual rider!

And I'm looking for your help!

First, things first. What is Pelotonia?
If you've been around these parts for a while you probably already know what it is. For those of you who are new or are not from the Ohio area you may have no idea what I'm talking about.

Pelotonia is an annual bike ride put on each year (this will be the 4th year) to raise money for cancer research. All proceeds are given directly to the James Comprehensive Cancer Center, but you'll read more about that below.

Who I'm Riding for?

I am riding for my Mother-in-Law (Kev's Stepmom) Lynn.

Lynn with Amanda & Megan (my beautiful sisters-in-law)!

Earlier this year, the Feb/March time frame Lynn was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.
Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, white blood cells, in your bone marrow.

Source: bing.com via Monica on Pinterest

Most people that are diagnosed with this type of cancer are older, like in their 70's, but more and more people in the 40-50 age ranges are starting to be diagnosed as the awareness of this type of cancer and cancer in general is rising.

Lynn was having some back and hip pain issues. She'd had them for a while, but also attributed it to something else. She finally couldn't take it and went to the hospital and they started running tests.

It took a couple days and several tests for them to feel confident in diagnosing her with this type of cancer, as it can look like other types of cancers depending on the tests that are run.

It was a rough couple of weeks for the family to say the least. We were all very worried and upset, but we know Lynn is a fighter, and they always say it's all about attitude!

The O'Dell/Ringley's at Lynn's benefit in March.

Lynn went through the appropriate steps of hospital visits, testing, and has undergone a full round of chemo. She had a one week on, two weeks off type of situation. So it was a steady stream of hosiptal visitis for several weeks.

Luckily she responded very well to the initial round of chemo and was put into a remission status.

However, to get her into a more concrete remission status, she currently is in the hospital after a super dose of a chemo and a healthy plasma transplant. As this blast of chemo has wiped out her immune system she has had to stay in the hospital for three weeks to ensure she does not get an illness (even the most common of bacteria) that could make her very sick, or even kill her as she's missing all of the fighting antibodies our bodies would normally have.

After several...and I mean hours worth...of ice-ies to prevent thrush due to chemo her tongue got a litttle blue.

Once her three weeks are up she is going home but has to be on a very strict regime when it comes to the foods she eats and the activities she partakes in - including not being able to touch her own dogs due to bacteria they carry.

I contribute a lot of Lynn's success to the James Cancer Hospital and Reserach Department. They have kept her very comfortable and, although it's not a cure, they have given her a regime that seems to be working extremely well.

I think it's great to note that Lynn's type of cancer treatment has been directly affected by research done at the James. They discovered that myeloma patients no longer have to worry about getting healthy marrow from an outside marrow donor, but the cancer patients themselves are able to use their own healthy marrow to regenerate their own white body cells. That means there is very, very low risk of rejection and infection, and a lot let pain for the patient and an outside donor.

(this doesn't mean that donated marrow is still not needed at times for this and other illnesses, but it's a great start!)

So all this being said I'd love all your help and support being a virtual rider.

No matter the size of your donation, 100% of your tax-deductible contribution goes directly to cancer research at the James Comprehensive Cancer Center (The James Cancer Hospital) and Solove Research Institute. The James is one of only 40 centers in the United States designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is a national leader in creating and testing new therapies based on scientific research, many of which are offered nowhere else in the world. Also, know that Limited Brands, the company I work for, will match whatever I raise 100% so the more donations I can get, the more donations the overall. Any donation is greatly appreciated.

If that story wasn't enough for you, I'll add some comic relief with a video that my co-worker John made.

You can also see Kev and I as a couple of the extra's! See if you can find us :)

You can find my rider profile here: Pelotonia Virtual Rider Profile: Megan O.

Happy Thursday :)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Walk for the Cure 2012

Hello everyone!

Anyone as sleepy as I am?

Part of the reason for this sleepiness if that the bestest and I, along with 50,000+ people, did the Susan Komen Walk for the Cure here in Columbus.

I've never really done something like this. I mean I've done walks and runs, but never for something this big and with this many people. The closest thing I could compare it to was being at the finish line of the marathon waiting for my dad. Needless to say I hadn't done squat in those moments other than cheer on dad and his fellow runners, whereas Saturday I left with a sense of a fulfillment.

We woke up early and headed over to check out everything and get ready for the walk to start. When we arrived there was music, people, and vendors (really they were local vendors/health care institutes) giving away small marketing items. You know like bags, nail files, and temp. tattoos.

They had some live bands play some songs and even a Zumba class.

There was a T-shirt design contest. You voted by donation. Of course I voted for the L.B. but there were some pretty creative ones out there.

Ready to get walking :)

Can I also note that I got one of these wrap-y thingies at one of the vendor counters and it might be my new favorite summer thing ever! I have "Dark Hair Girl Problems" and the top of my head/hair gets SUPER hot when I'm out in the sun. So I put this thing on for purposes of a headband and it ended up working for both!

Nanners at the finish line for the 5k run. That was only 4 of the tables, it went on and on!

Danielle and I met up with my co-worker Erika and her 3 "guests". Another perk of the job is that we had our entry fees, along with 3 other guests, paid for by the company. Isn't the awesome!?

The start of the race. We were in such a crowd of people initially that I didn't even realize that the walk had started and that we were actually walking the route and not just to the start line.

There was a little stage that people were letting us know who they were walking for. At that moment I became a bit emotional...it was both heartbreaking and gratifying. I felt this sense of purpose yet you feel so bad for those who have lost loved ones.

The sense of purpose still fueling me and about a mile and half later we round this bend in the road and I look up to see this sight in front of me!

I knew there was going to be a lot of people at this walk but this sight completely overwhelmed me. That sense of purpose changed to a sense of pride in humanity and awe. So many people fighting against this awful disease.

Then to look behind me and see just as many people almost brought me to tears.

For about the last mile or so the street was lined with motorcycles and the riders. They were there in support as well, cheering us on, revving up there bikes. The city echoed with people and machines. It was incredible.

The finish line. The sign reads "We will walk and we will run until we find a cure"

The tears are welling up now remembering it. All of these people were brought together to fight against on thing. Sometimes I question humanity and how good we really are, and then moments like these happen. Moments where we all come together as one for the greater good. It's inspiring, humbling,and really just plain old awesome!

How was your weekend?

Happy Monday!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

How Pinteresting

Happy hump day!

Let's just skip all the intros and go right to the pinning shall we?

It's going to be a random one again because, yet again, I have been finding some really good pins!